Gillespie raises questions on Hyderabad’s ₹20.5 Cr buy

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins made it to the record books after Kolkata and Hyderabad showered mouth-watering amounts to acquire their services for the Indian T20 League 2024. Starc was purchased for a whopping ₹24.75 by the Kolkata franchise and became the most expensive player in the tournament's history just an hour after Cummins was picked up for ₹20.5 crore. With that, Cummins became the first player to breach the 20-crore mark in the history of the 17-year-old league. But unfortunately, the Australian skipper’s record only lasted as Kolkata came in Starc’s bid to make a never-before-seen bid. 

Reacting to the extraordinary amount spent on the two Australian giants, Spencer Johnson was another Aussie pacer who was purchased by the Gujarat franchise for ₹10 crore - former Aussie pacer Jason Gillespie shared his mixed opinion on the event as he was not much satisfied with the amount paid for the World Cup winning Australian captain.     

Gillespie said about Cummins, that he is better suited for the Test format and may not be the ideal pace bowler in the shortest format of the game. "Pat's obviously a quality bowler and a quality leader, we've seen that. I just don't think T20 is his best format," Gillespie told SEN Radio. "I think he's a Test bowler, personally. I think Test cricket is his absolute bread and butter."

Cummins hasn’t attracted Indian T20 League franchises for the first time, previously the pacer who has 55 wickets in 50 T20I matches at an average of 24.54 and an economy of 7.37 in T20Is, was bought by the Kolkata franchise for ₹15.5 crore. "He's a good T20 bowler, make no mistake. But that’s massive overs for me," Gillespie stated.

Just an hour later after the Cummins deal, another Aussie pacer surpassed the captain’s deal to become the most expensive player in the history of the Indian T20 League.

It is worth noting that, Starc has previously prioritised international duties over playing in a fantasy cricket tournament. He has played for a total of two seasons in the biggest league in the world, taking 34 wickets in 27 matches at an average of 20.38. 

"I think he’s a great buy. It’s a lot of money, we all acknowledge that, but the IPL is a very rich tournament… I’m absolutely delighted for Mitch.

"I think it just highlights how important teams value left-arm fast bowling and left-arm swing bowling at pace,” Gillespie added.